Making it Right
by Wunder Boy
Summary: "She notes how quickly her dream has turned into an absolute nightmare, and it amazes and horrifies her at the same time." In which Rachel tries to fix things with Jesse. Post Bad Reputation. St. Berry!


**A/N:** Alrighty, this is my first St. Berry/Glee/fic in general in a very long time. As of right now, I am sorry for any mistakes I may have in this because my Beta is asleep and whenever she's awake, I'm asleep. My body clock's messed up, go figure. Putting it lightly, I was devastated at the end of Bad Reputation. I honestly hate how Quinn gets away with everything and how Rachel lost Jesse. I started out shipping Finchel, actually, but now I can't help it. My heart belongs to St. Berry. We really do need more fics of them, so, here you go.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Glee and I don't own the song Total Eclipse of the Heart (but I do think that it's friggin' awesome).

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**Making it Right**

"_Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time."_

Before she leaves for school this morning her dads tell her that she's been acting different these past couple of weeks.

Different how, she asks, but they say that they just can't put their fingers on it. Truth be told, Rachel does feel different. She feels happier, lighter even, than she has since she can't actually remember. It isn't until later, when she reaches her locker that she understands why. Because Jesse St. James is standing there by her locker, waiting for her and immediately lights up at the sight of her.

"Good morning, Rachel," Jesse says with a smile on his face.

Rachel feels something fluttering in her stomach and she seriously hopes it's not butterflies (they're such a cliché).

"Good morning, Jesse," she says, mirroring his expression. She then opens her locker and takes out the books she needs for her first three periods. Afterwards, she takes his hand and he walks her to class as she fills him in on their latest Glee assignment. When they get to her classroom, he gives her a brief kiss on the cheek before he bids her farewell and walks off to his own class.

She tries to concentrate on what her teacher is saying, she really does, but she usually finds her thoughts drifting back to him. The feel of his arm around her waist, the softness of his lips against hers, the tenderness of his touch. She loves the way his head tilts back when he laughs, and how he somewhat sticks his tongue out whenever he says a word with the letter L. But probably most of all, she loves the way that he makes her _feel_. He makes her feel like she's actually worth something, that she's more than just a tool used to win a singing competition. She's touched that he isn't embarrassed to be seen with her; that he doesn't mind publicly proclaiming their love—holding her hand, kissing her cheek, putting his arm around her waist—even if they both have had a few slushies thrown at their faces.

She loves that he tells her often that she is lovely, and that she actually feels beautiful for once (because, as much as she hates to admit it, when she's with Finn she tends to feel like the most unattractive person in the world).

Sometimes though, she thinks she is dreaming, because she's long since accepted the fact that good things don't happen to people like her. But then she remembers that Jesse is sort of like her, and thinks that they both deserve a break.

So, she wishes against all odds that she never wakes up.

"_Once upon a time I was falling in love  
But now I'm only falling apart."_

It is the afternoon after Rachel shows the Glee Club her video, after she belts out one of the hardest songs she has ever she spots him by his locker she quickly marches up to him. She's oh so mad and even sadder and she has to dump all this emotion somewhere.

"Listen, maybe none of you particularly approve of what I did, but what you said to me earlier was totally out of line!"

Finn jumps at the sight of her but continues to stuff his books into his locker. "What are you talking about, Rachel?"

"You asking me whether or not I care more about my relationships than my reputation, that's what!" she shoots back as she flails her hands in every direction. "You and I both know that you've had problems regarding the same thing before, Finn. Quite a few times, actually."

He stops unloading his bag for a moment and seems to take in what she just said. "You're right. You're right," he says a second time before he puts one more book into his locker. Honestly, she is shocked and a little irritated that he gave up so quickly. She still has all these emotions that want to come and burst out. "But don't you go psycho on me," Finn continues, as if he is reading her mind, "It's not my fault that you and Jesse are over."

And as Rachel processes his statement, the truth—also the pain and guilt and anguish that comes with it—comes crashing down on her. She notes how quickly her dream has turned into an absolute nightmare, and it amazes and horrifies her at the same time. Because, really, how can anyone with a well enough functioning brain possibly see the lure of popularity (much less anything else) when Jesse St. James—the boy who left everything for you—has his arm around you? All at once she can hardly see, can hardly stand, can hardly breathe because the truth is suffocating the life out of her that she has to lean on the lockers for support. It is only when Finn speaks again that she realizes that he's still there.

"He seems to really like you, you know."

She blinks a few times before she responds. "What?"

"Jesse, I mean. He actually seems to care about you. A lot."

"Yeah. I mean, I know. But it doesn't matter now."

"Why not?" He looks seriously puzzled by this.

"You said it yourself; he broke up with me." It's the first time she says it out loud and it hurts far worse than she thought it would.

"So?"

Now it's her turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

"If you like him so much, then do something about it," he says with a shrug.

"Like what?"

"Apologize? Win him back? I don't know, I'm not his girlfriend."

She wants to say neither is she, but she bites her tongue. She's more confused than touched by this sudden change of events. "Why are you telling me this? We both know that despite the fact that the club has warmed up to him, you don't like Jesse very much."

Finn sighs a really big sigh before he answers. "Look, Rachel, these last few weeks, I've been doing my best to be the bigger man here and just be happy that you're happy. If Jesse makes you happy, then I think you guys should give it another go." He picks up his now nearly empty bag from the floor, turns away from her and walks away.

"Finn!" she calls when he's a few feet away from her.

He glances at her from behind his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Thanks. For everything," she adds anxiously.

"Sure. I hope… I hope things work out for you, Rachel. And I mean that." He smiles at her, and she realizes that it's been quite some time since he's done that.

She smiles back. "Yeah, I know. Thank you. Again."

He turns around once more and Rachel watches his back until he gets lost in the crowd.

"_And we'll only be making it right  
'Cause we'll never be wrong together."_

It takes her two days before she can even look at him and another three before she has the guts to approach him. It's after Glee rehearsals and they're all exhausted. Regionals is fast approaching and Mr. Schue has them working twice as hard as before. Slowly, the room empties until it's just Jesse, Finn and her; though after a fleeting, encouraging look from Finn, he leaves as well. Jesse looks up from the music sheets he's been reading, spots Rachel looking at him, and it is clearly etched on his handsome face that he doesn't like the idea of being alone in the choir room with her. That being said, Jesse starts packing up and heads for the door.

Rachel quickly follows and stops just a few short steps away from him. "Your vocals were amazing today."

Jesse doesn't stop, doesn't even look back, and as much as it hurts her, Rachel was expecting it. He's been so cold towards her lately. Not one to back down easily, she tries again. "Your pitch starts going all over the place during the second verse, though. Don't get me wrong, it's still really good, but if we work on it together, maybe—."

"What do you want?" He turns around and faces her and she tries her best not to cower under his intense stare.

She takes a few more steps towards him then holds out her right hand. "Hi, I'm Rachel."

He raises one of his eyebrows and looks at her skeptically. "You're really doing this, now?"

"It's symbolic… Sir," it feels really uncomfortable calling him 'Sir' and even more uncomfortable keeping her arm up, but she goes with it, hoping it will be worth it in the end. "I want a clean slate. I was being selfish, stupid even, for ever thinking that my reputation was more important than you. I mean, you're the only one who has ever put up with me constantly being around for this long."

"If it's so stupid, then why did you do it, Rachel?" Jesse asks her, pain evident in his voice. "Why'd you go and have me wear that stupid outfit for a good hour and a half? Why didn't you tell me that those other guys were in the video, too? Or better yet, why did they even have to be in the video?"

"I wanted everyone to think I was cool," she admits. "Like I said, I have this pathological _need _to be popular and the immensity of my shame at being at the bottom of the Glist just drove me to think of some way to be at the top, to be number one."

"You were always number one to me, Rach." He says it so sincerely that Rachel almost forgets to look doubtful. Almost. Because it goes without saying that Jesse St. James is just as conceited as she is, if not more. "Okay, maybe not," he continues, looking quite uncertain as well, "but you're a close second." He glances at his watch before he continues. "Is there anything else you want to say to me? I've got a Physics test tomorrow, first period, and I haven't studied."

She blinks up at him. _That was a shock._ "You haven't studied?"

"I had other things on my mind, okay?" he says, pointedly.

Rachel winced. Even though Jesse doesn't really say it is her fault, she feels guilty nonetheless. "What, what I'm trying to say is that—I'm sorry. I was wrong."

"And?"

"And I would really appreciate it if you give me another chance."

"Okay."

Rachel has no idea what his response means, but when she sees him cast a brief smile, she relaxes a little. "Okay? That's it? That's all you're going to say to me after I went through all this trouble and kept my arm hanging for the last five minutes? 'Okay?'"

Jesse takes two long strides towards her, grabs her hand and firmly shakes it.

"Hi, I'm Jesse."

Jesse smiles at her and she beams at him. The next part takes her by such a surprise that it doesn't register in her brain fast enough. One second Jesse has his hand in hers and the next, he has both his arms around her waist, pulls her closer to him and leans in to kiss her. The kiss is soft and sweet and the feel of his lips on hers is exactly what she needs. She can no longer deny the presence of butterflies in her stomach when one of Jesse's hands move up to cup her face and she puts both her arms around his neck.

Something occurs to her while Jesse is nibbling at her bottom lip and she is running her fingers through his hair; it occurs to her that she's very much _awake_ and that this isn't just another one of her dreams. She realizes, in fact, that she's been awake pretty much this whole time but had yet to realize it. This man right here actually really likes her (heck, he might even _love _her) and she feels about him exactly the same way and now that she has him all to herself she will never let go of him again. She smiles against his mouth and further deepens the kiss.

They pull away soon after and are both panting heavily. The smile on Rachel's face is just as wide as his when she looks up at him and says, "It's very nice to meet you, Jesse."

**End.

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**A/N2**: Okay, at first I wrote this with Jesse apologizing as well for overreacting, but that was just too much wishful thinking so I took it out. I hope you enjoyed my little fic and I encourage you all to leave reviews. :) Thank you very much!


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